Stevia, Truvia, and Cancer: What you should know about Sweetener

sweetener

Choose truvia

Truvia is a sweetener derived from the plant stevia. Truvia is also known as rabidioside A and is purified from select parts of the stevia plant. It was created by Kargil (agricultural giant) and Coca-Cola. The main ingredient in Truvia was found to be “without objection” from the FDA. Thus, it is now in the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) category for food additives. Learn about this sweetener and its safety.

History of stevia

Stevia has a mixed story in the US, the plant has been used as a sweetener for centuries in South America and is a common sweetener in places such as Japan. The us In, however, stevia was banned from use as a food additive because research suggested that stevia could potentially cause cancer.

Different types of stevia

Like sugar, stevia comes in many different forms — liquid, powder, and granule. There are also dessert products that use stevia instead of sugar such as ice cream, jam, and jelly. You can also see Coca-Cola Life and Sprite Green on Alka, both sweetened by stevia. Pepsi True is another stevia-sweetened product. While stevia is considered natural, additional ingredients are added to the processing such as erythritol, a fine alcohol, and “natural flavor”.

FDA Approval vs. Non-Objection

The FDA’s “non-objection” results from industry-submitted data showing the safety of the stevia refining process that removes stevia’s suspected constituents. The process focuses on a component of stevia called steviol glycoside ribidoside A (rib-A). Reb-A (also known as Rebiana), has a different safety profile than Stevia in general. Truvia is made from Reb-A.

Truvia Safety

But is Truvia safe? Since the FDA does not object, it is possible that from there it is as safe as any sugar substitute. You could argue that it is less safe due to the discovery of cancer in the past, but you could also argue that Truvia’s “naturalness” combined with hundreds of uses (stevia) in the world makes it safe.

Due to the “ordinarily safe” designation of Truvia from the FDA, there is no restriction on its use during pregnancy. It has not been widely tested to end in breast testing and therefore states the LactMed database supported by the National Library of Medicine, “Although the breastfed infant appears to have a lower risk, an alternative artificial sweetener that has more data available Can be especially preferred, especially when caring for a newborn or preterm infant. “

A review of studies in 2017 noted that stevia-derived sweeteners were in widespread use but there have been no studies on its effects on the risks of cancer or diabetes.

Side effects of stevia and truvia

While stevia is considered natural, researchers have to be aware of the side effects. Those who are already allergic to ragweed, marigold, chrysanthemums, marigold or daisies should avoid stevia to prevent anaphylactic shock. Reduced appetite, nausea, feeling of fullness, and bloating may also be symptoms caused by stevia intake. Stevia is also contraindicated in people taking high blood pressure or diabetes medication as they may interact.

Truvia has been studied for side effects and according to the manufacturer they are rare in less than 100,000. They note that erythritol, a sugar alcohol, is used as a bulk agent in Truvia. Although other alcoholic alcohols are known to cause diarrhea in some people, erythritol does not have the same laxative effect as normally consumed. However, a laxative effect is possible.

Choose truvia

Eating truvia and other stevia-derived sweeteners may have its risks, but if you’re using artificial sweeteners, they can make good additions to your sweetener options.

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